Assessments and Young Children - Connecticut Birth to Three System

CONNECTICUT
BIRTH TO THREE SYSTEM
PRESCHOOL SPECIAL
EDUCATION
Working together for children with disabilities
INFORMATION FOR FAMILIES AND PROFESSIONALS
WINTER, VOL.11, NO. 3
Assessments and
Young Children
By Marianne Barton, Ph.D., Associate
Clinical Professor, Dept. of Psychology,
University of Connecticut, Storrs
This article is translated into Spanish
on page 2. Ver la versión española de
este artículo en la página 2.
Produced by the
State Department of Education
Early Childhood Special
Education Program and the
Connecticut Birth to Three System
in collaboration with the
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SYSTEM
College of Agriculture & Natural Resources
Although assessment is just a process
of comparing a child to established
norms to determine if development
is progressing as expected, referring a
young child for assessment may raise
concerns for parents. What will the
evaluation be like? What if my child
does not measure up to the evaluator’s demands? Will I be able to be a
part of the assessment? What if the
assessors do not understand my child?
These are valid questions that address concerns shared by parents and
professionals.
Young children present unique challenges to any assessment process.
They change rapidly and they learn
at different rates and in different
ways. Children are strongly affected
by their surroundings. They may be
comfortable in one setting and much
less so in another. Their behavior
may vary with their own physical and
emotional state or their interaction
with the evaluator. Family routines
and cultural experiences also affect
children’s responses to the assessment process. For all of these reasons, assessment of young children
must include a variety of assessment
tools and the participation of several
professionals with different expertise.
Assessment must include seeing the
child in natural, comfortable settings
with familiar people. It must include
the opinions of those who know the
child best and are the true experts on
that child. And adults must remain
aware that even the most careful of
assessments can capture only a limited
picture of a child’s abilities at one moment in time. Assessment allows us to
take a careful look at a child’s current
strengths and challenges. It does not
allow us to predict development over
time and it should never be used to
label children.
Assessment is designed, in part, to
identify those children who may be
struggling to accomplish developmental tasks at the expected time.
That goal requires assessment tools
that can be used in the same way with
different children, and that allows us
to compare one child’s performance
with other children of the same age,
gender, race and cultural background.
These tools, which are called normreferenced tests, must be carefully
developed to insure that they produce
reliable results over time, that they
measure what they are intended to
measure, and that they are appropriate to use with children from different
backgrounds. These tests are designed
to be interesting to young children
and they can often be administered
in flexible ways, for example, seated
on the floor or in a play based setting.
Nonetheless, tests are intended to be
administered in essentially the same
way to most children, in order to permit evaluators to compare one child’s
performance with a larger group.
Data from these tests are often used
to determine eligibility for intervention services.
But norm-referenced testing is only
one part of the assessment process.
Other tools are designed to look
closely at specific tasks to determine
what skills a child has mastered, and
what skills they are ready to learn.
These assessment procedures are
designed to be used in a flexible
fashion and often include direct observation of children in their real life
or play settings. This process, often
called criterion-based assessment, allows evaluators to build on a child’s
strengths, and to design interventions that link existing skills to new
tasks. Criterion based assessment is
especially helpful in defining specific
goals that can be used to evaluate
a child’s progress and response to
intervention.
Meaningful assessment of a young
child must include both normreferenced and criterion based tools.
Evaluators look at a child’s skills in
many areas, including problem solving skills, language, motor development, social interaction, behavior,
and the tasks of everyday life, such
as eating, dressing and play. Assessment should occur in multiple
settings, including settings providing the opportunity for the child to
interact with parents and with peers
in play. Children must be observed
when they are truly comfortable and
engaged with the people they most
enjoy being with.
Las evaluaciones y
los niños menores
Por Marianne Barton, PhD,
Associate Clinical Professor
Department of Psychology,
University of Connecticut, Storrs
Aunque la evaluación no es más que
el proceso de comparar manifestaciones de un niño con ciertas normas
establecidas para determinar si su
desarrollo progresa de conformidad
con las mismas, enviar un niño a
evaluación puede provocar inquietudes en los padres. ¿Cómo será
la evaluación? ¿Qué si mi niño no
satisface las expectativas del evaluador? ¿Qué participación tendré
2
BIRTH through 5 N EW S
Parents are a critical part of every
assessment. Parents know their child
best and can provide information
about the child’s likes and dislikes,
development over time, and behavior in settings we cannot observe. In
infancy, parents are typically present
throughout an assessment process.
Preschool children may be evaluated
in a school setting but parents are
invited to contribute their opinions
through interviews or participation
with their child in some parts of
the assessment. Equally important,
parents help identify their goals for
a child and help professionals insure
that intervention goals are consistent
with each family’s customs and
culture. And parents can inform
professionals when a child is not
behaving in their usual manner,
when information collected in
the assessment process is simply
not a good picture of who this
child is and how s/he usually
behaves.
opment of plans for intervention
services, but they do not end there.
Assessment can serve as an opportunity for parents and professionals to
develop a shared understanding of
a child and to become partners in a
team that works together to set goals
and monitor progress. At its best, assessment allows parents and professionals to (1) understand a child a
little better (2) develop a richer view
of a child’s strengths (3) more carefully describe needs so that together
they may plan for a child’s future.
The assessment of young
children is a complex process
that serves many goals. These
begin with the identification of
children at risk and the develyo en la evaluación? ¿Qué si los
evaluadores no comprenden a mi
niño? Son preguntas válidas que
reflejan inquietudes en padres y
profesionales.
Los niños menores presentan
retos singulares en cualquier proceso
de evaluación. Cambian con rapidez y progresan a ritmos diferentes
y en formas diferentes. Los niños
son muy susceptibles a los cambios de ambiente, pueden sentirse
cómodos en un entorno y mucho
menos en otro. Su comportamiento
puede variar según su estado físico
o emocional o su interacción con
el evaluador. Sus rutinas familiares
y experiencias culturales también
influyen en sus reacciones durante el
W I N T E R 2 0 1 0 , VO L . 1 1 N O . 3
proceso de evaluación. Por todas estas razones la evaluación de los niños
menores debe utilizar una variedad
de instrumentos de evaluación y
contar con la participación de varios
profesionales de diferentes especialidades. La evaluación debe incluir
ver al niño en un ambiente natural,
cómodo, con personas que le sean
familiares. Debe incluir las opiniones
de quienes mejor conocen al niño y
son los verdaderos expertos en cuanto al mismo. Y los adultos deben
mantenerse conscientes de que aun
la más cuidadosa de las evaluaciones
puede captar solamente un retrato
limitado de las aptitudes del niño en
determinado momento. La evaluación nos permite dar un vistazo
cuidadoso a sus fortalezas y retos
actuales; no nos permite predecir
su desarrollo con el tiempo y nunca
debe usarse para caracterizar al niño.
La evaluación esta diseñada, en
parte, para identificar a niños que
a duras penas batallan por desarrollarse conforme a la cronología
reputada como normal. Esa meta
requiere instrumentos de evaluación
que puedan utilizarse de la misma
manera con diferentes niños, y que
nos permitan comparar el aprovechamiento de un niño con el de
otros de la misma edad, sexo, raza
y trasfondo cultural. Estos instrumentos, conocidos como pruebas
referentes a normas, deben desarrollarse cuidadosamente para asegurar
que producen resultados confiables
con el tiempo, que pueden medir
lo que se pretende medir, y que son
apropiados para niños de diferentes
trasfondos. Estas pruebas están
diseñadas para resultar interesantes
a los niños pequeños y deben poder
administrarse con flexibilidad, por
ejemplo lo mismo sentados en el
piso que en un lugar de juego. Sin
embargo, las pruebas deben poder
aplicarse esencialmente de la misma
forma a la mayoría de los niños,
para permitir a los evaluadores comparar el desempeño de un niño con
el de un grupo mayor. Los datos
resultantes de estas pruebas suelen
utilizarse para determinar la elegibilidad para servicios de intervención.
Pero las pruebas referentes a normas son solo parte del proceso de
evaluación. Hay otros instrumentos
diseñados para observar de cerca
funciones específicas con el propósito de determinar qué aptitudes ha
dominado el niño, y qué aptitudes
está listo para adquirir. Estos pro-
cedimientos de evaluación están dis- sentes a lo largo del proceso de
eñados para usarse con flexibilidad
evaluación. Los niños preescolares
y a menudo incluyen la observación pueden evaluarse en un ambiente
directa de los niños en ambientes de escolar pero los padres deben estar
la vida real
invitados a
o de juego.
contribuir
We need your help!
Este proceso,
opiniones
a menudo
mediante
Please send your ideas or suggestions
llamado
entrevistas
for future newsletter topics to
evaluación
o [email protected]
basada en
pación con
or call 203-207-3267.
criterio,
su niño
Thank you so much for your input.
permite a los
en algunas
evaluadores
partes de la
utilizar como
evaluación.
base los puntos fuertes del niño y
Igualmente importante, los padres
diseñar intervenciones que conecten ayudan a identificar metas para el
las aptitudes existentes con nuevas
niño y ayudar a los profesionales
tareas. Las evaluaciones basadas en
a cerciorarse de que las metas de
criterios son particularmente útiles
intervención son consistentes con la
para definir metas específicas uticultura y costumbres de la familia.
lizables para medir el progreso del
Y los padres pueden informar a los
niño y su reacción a la intervención. profesionales cuando un niño no se
comporta de manera usual, cuEl proceso de evaluación realmente
ando la información recogida en la
útil de un niño menor debe incluir
evaluación simplemente no refleja lo
tanto los instrumentos basados
que el niño es y como se comporta
en normas como los basados en
usualmente.
criterios. Los evaluadores observan
las aptitudes del niño en muchas
La evaluación de los niños menores
áreas incluyendo resolución de
es un proceso complejo que sirve
problemas, lenguaje, desarrollo mo- muchos propósitos. Comienza con
tor, interacción social, conducta y
la identificación de los niños en
funciones de la vida cotidiana como riesgo y el desarrollo de planes de
comer, vestirse y jugar. La evaluservicios de intervención, pero no
ación debe ocurrir en ambientes
termina allí. La evaluación puede
múltiples incluyendo algunos que
servir como una oportunidad para
brinden la oportunidad para que el
los padres y profesionales de desarniño tenga interacción con sus parollar una comprensión compartida
dres y compañeros de juego. Debe
del niño y funcionar como socios en
observarse a los niños cuando se
un equipo que trabaja de consuno
sienten cómodos y conectados con
para establecer metas y controlar el
quienes más les gusta estar.
progreso. En el mejor de los casos,
la evaluación permite a los padres
Los padres son parte crítica de toda
y profesionales (1) comprender al
evaluación. Los padres conocen a
niño un poco mejor, (2) desarrollar
su hijo mejor que nadie y pueden
una visión más rica de las fortalezas
proporcionar información de lo que
del niño, y (3) describir más cuile gusta o disgusta, su desarrollo
dadosamente las necesidades para
a través del tiempo y su comporque juntos puedan planificar el
tamiento en situaciones que no
futuro del niño.
podemos observar. En la infancia,
los padres están típicamente pre-
W I N T E R 2 0 1 0 , VO L . 1 1 N O . 3
B I RT H t h ro ugh 5 NEWS
3
Providers’ Perspective
By Connecticut early
childhood specialists
For a parent, assessment is one of
those words that inspires a variety
of reactions – mostly anxious ones.
The thought of someone assessing
our children brings all of our loving,
protective, and defensive instincts
into play. We want the assessor
to see the unique and wonderful
aspects of our beautiful child and at
the same time, we need an expert
to hear our concerns, observe the
behaviors we are worried about
and give us the information we
need to help our little one develop
to his/her potential.
Ongoing functional assessment
looks at the whole child and provides us with the information we
need to plan effective next steps.
The following are some tips for
conducting functional assessments
in natural settings:
Update: Early
Childhood Special
Education
Maria Synodi, Coordinator
Early Childhood Special Education
“Getting to Know You … Getting
to Know all About You …” Does
that old show tune from the 1951
Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King and I, sound familiar?
Well, whether it does ring a bell for
some of us or not – it is the best
way to describe the reason that an
assessment is conducted. In special
education, when a school district
wants to ‘get to know you’ – in other
words, get to know your child - an
assessment is conducted to provide
information. That assessment information can tell parents and professionals about an individual child’s
strengths, the child’s needs, what the
child knows and can do and what
4
BIRTH through 5 N EW S
1. Visit a child’s preschool classroom or daycare center. As you
observe the child you can assess:
interacts with peers and
adult providers, how the other
children respond to this child)
• emerging independence
(e.g. his/her ability to pour
juice, wash hands)
• attention (ability to focus on
group activities, play with
manipulative toys, remain with
each activity)
• adaptive skills (how s/he is
able to participate with getting
shoes and coat on)
• problem solving skills (how s/
he gets organized with other
peers around)
• spatial awareness (e.g. how s/he
decides where to sit in relation 2. Observe a child outside, at the
park or on the playground. You
to peers to get their shoes on)
can assess:
• language development (how s/
•
how s/he plays in a bigger
he requests help when needed,
space
how s/he follows verbal direc•
how
his/her motor skills are
tions, or if s/he looks for visual
developing
cues from peers)
•
how
his/her adaptive skills are
• fine motor skills (how s/he
emerging
manipulates zippers/Velcro
• his/her protective responses
straps/the coat hook)
and awareness of danger
• receptive language skills (how
•
how
s/he reacts to various
s/he follows the teacher’s verbal
surfaces—grass,
in a sandbox,
cues and visual cues from
on
a
stone
surface,
and
peers)
on pavement
• social interaction (how s/he
the child has yet to learn and do.
It can also tell us how individual
children best learn and use new
skills. The better the staff in a school
district know your child, the better
the school district staff can develop
an appropriate educational program
with just the right amount of supports and services.
While most of us sometimes think
an assessment is just a test or a series
of tests, it is often more than that. It
is about the professionals involved,
the information provided by parents
and the child. It is a team approach.
And it includes more than just tests.
It can include parent interviews and
information provided by parents
about their child. It can include formal and informal observations of the
child in various settings to see how a
child demonstrates what they know
and can do. It can include more than
one professional from more than one
specialty area. Ultimately, the infor-
W I N T E R 2 0 1 0 , VO L . 1 1 N O . 3
mation contributed by everyone who
may be looking through a variety
of different lens, helps us to get to
know the child.
There are many reasons for conducting an assessment. Before conducting an assessment, it is important
to know what questions need to be
answered. The questions can include: What do we, as professionals,
need to know? What questions do
we need answered? And what is the
best way to obtain rich information
that contributes to developing an
educational plan that is based upon
an individual child? Times when
assessments are used can be at the
time when a decision needs to be
made about whether a child is or is
not eligible for special education. It
can be when a teacher wants to learn
about a child so that he/she can plan
a teaching and learning opportunity
based upon what a child or group
of children need to learn. Assess-
ment, can also help the professionals involved, identify whether their
teaching has had an impact on the
child – In other words, has the child
learned and can do something new
because of the special education
and related services that have been
provided to the child.
This year’s annual Together We Will
(TWW) Conference will focus on
the topic of assessment. The theme
Birth to Three
Update
By Linda Goodman, Director, Birth to
Three System
Thanks to everyone who submitted and helped collect our annual
family survey data last spring. We
are now using a combination of
the family survey data and child
progress data to select local Birth to
Three programs for monitoring. If
a program’s scores on both factors
are lower than other programs of
the same size, we will visit them
to find out why and to help them
improve their outcomes. All of the
information that ranks the programs and all monitoring reports
will be posted on the website as
they are completed.
Speaking of our website, you will
soon be seeing a new improved design. We hope to make it easier for
both families and providers to find
information. For starters, there will
be a section labeled “For Families”
and one labeled “For Providers.”
Although anyone can look at either
section, we will try to group the
items that will be of most interest
to each audience so that anyone
using the website is more likely to
find the information they want.
Beginning January 1, 2010, Connecticut health insurance plans
will be required to pay for autism
of the conference is “Assessment: It’s
More than a Tool”. Birth to three
providers, school district personnel and families are encouraged to
attend and join a day with experts in
the field to focus on the topic of assessment. I hope to see you all there
and I hope we get to spend some
time “getting to know you, getting
to know all about you”.
services. For Birth to Three, that
means that we will be able to collect reimbursement from health insurance plans (with parent consent)
for Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, and
Behavioral Therapy. The requirements include:
• An annual diagnosis of autism
spectrum disorder by a physician, clinical social worker, or
clinical psychologist
• Prior authorization of the
treatment plan (in our case,
the IFSP)
• Assuring that behavioral therapy
is delivered by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst or clinical
psychologist or is supervised
by one of those people using a
ratio of one hour of face-to-face
supervision for every 10 hours
of service delivered
• The autism service provider
agency must either be in-network with the plan or, if not,
will only be able to bill plans
that have out-of-network
benefits.
Health insurance plans are required
to pay for as many OT, PT, or
Speech visits as listed in the authorized treatment plan and must pay
up to $50,000 a year for behavioral
therapy services for young children
(the amount decreases with age and
stops at age 15).
Calendar
Please visit www.ctserc.org for
more information or to register for
any of the following workshops.
February 19, 2010
9:00 am to 3:30 pm
Everyday Strategies for Teaching
Social-Emotional Skills
Presenter: Elsa Jones, Child Development Specialist Consultant
& Anne Marie Davidson, SERC
Consultant
Location: SERC Classroom,
Middletown
Audience: PreK, General and
Special Education Early
Childhood Teachers and
Support Personnel
Fee: $45
February 24, 2010
9:00 am to 3:30 pm
Influencing Behavioral Growth
in Preschoolers: The “Big”
Picture
Presenter: Michael Weiss PhD,
Giant Steps School Connecticut
Location: SERC Library
Community Room, Middletown
Audience: PreK, 3-5, General
and Special Education Preschool
Teachers, Assistants, Administrators, Support Services Professionals and Family Members
Fee: $40
March 13, 2010
9:00 am to 2:00 pm
Literacy in Action
Presenter: Ida Washington, Educational Consultant, Windsor &
Paquita Sims, SERC Consultant
Location: SERC Classroom,
Middletown
Audience: Birth-5, Toddler,
Preschool, Kindergarten, and
Early Childhood General and
Special Educators and Child
Care Providers
Fee: $45
W I N T E R 2 0 1 0 , VO L . 1 1 N O . 3
B I RT H t h ro ugh 5 NEWS
5
March 16, 2010
9:00 am to 3:30 pm
Using Play to Enhance Communication with Young Children
Presenter: SERC Consultants
Location: SERC Classroom,
Middletown
Audience: Birth-3, Teams of 4-5
Early Intervention Teachers and Related Services Professionals
Fee: $30
March 18, 2010
9:00 am to 3:30 pm
Improving Early Identification
of Autism Spectrum Disorders in
Infants and Toddlers
Presenter: Amy Wetherby PhD,
Resources
Assessing Infants and Preschoolers
with Special Needs, M. McLean,
M. Wolery, & D.B. Bailey (2004),
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education. Covers issues from basic
information about assessment to
particulars regarding assessing young
children with special needs.
LINKing Assessment and Early
Intervention: An Authentic Curriculum-Based Approach, S.J. Bagnato,
J.T. Neisworth, & S. M. Munson
(1997), Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
Identifies critical markers for judging
quality in assessments and providing
snapshots of the “best” curriculumembedded and curriculumcompatible assessment and
intervention systems.
Skilled Dialogue: Strategies for
Responding to Cultural Diversity in
Early Childhood, J. Barrera, R.M.
Corso, & D. Macpherson (2003),
Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
Helps practitioners understand the
challenges of collaboration with
family members whose values,
beliefs, and backgrounds may differ
from their own.
BIRTH through 5 N EW S
March 19, 2010
9:00 am to 3:30 pm
Enhancing Social Communication
for Young Children with Autism
Spectrum Disorders
Presenter: Amy Wetherby PhD,
Professor of Clinical Sciences, Florida
State University
Location: Four Points Sheraton,
Meriden
Audience: Birth to Five, Birth to
Websites:
Books:
6
Professor of Clinical Sciences,
Florida State University
Location: Four Points Sheraton,
Meriden
Audience: Birth-3, Birth to Three
Providers and Family Members
Fee: $50
http://www.nectac.org/~ppts/calls/
RecAssessSlides/sld001.htm A PowerPoint slide presentation of Recommended Practices for Assessment
in Early Childhood Settings by Dr.
John Neisworth and Dr. Stephen
Bagnato from 2001 Conference
Call sponsored by the National
Early Childhood Technical
Assistance Center.
http://www.challengingbehavior.org/index.htm Technical
Assistance Center for Social
Emotional Interventions
for Young Children
(TACSEI). A
good resource
on assessments and interventions
in the social
emotional
areas of
development.
Resources
section has
several articles,
handouts, and
brochures.
W I N T E R 2 0 1 0 , VO L . 1 1 N O . 3
Three Providers, Preschool Special
Education Teachers, Assistants, Administrators, Support Services Professionals, and Family Members
Fee: $50
April 6, 2010
9:00 am to 3:30 pm
Evaluation Report Writing
Research
Presenter: Anne F. Farrell PhD,
Assistant Professor, Human Development & Family Studies, University
of Connecticut, Stamford
Location: Crowne Plaza, Cromwell
Audience: Birth-3, Birth to Three
Teachers, and Related Service
Professionals
Fee: $40
http://www.naeyc.org/positionstatements/cape The National Association
for the Education of Young
Children, Position Statement on
Curriculum, Assessment, and
Program Evaluation. Access to the
archived digital issues of Young Children magazine and archived NSEYC
Radio broadcasts.
www.wrightslaw.com/
idea/law/idea.regs.
subpartd.pdf Evaluation requirements in
the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, Part B
(Special Education
3-21). Subpart D
concerns Evaluations, Eligibility
Determinations,
Individualized Education Programs, and
Educational Placements.
The regulatory section
on evaluations begins
at section 300.301.
Parents’ Perspective
By Sally Hulk
Information for Families and Professionals
is published periodically by the University of
Connecticut Cooperative Extension System
in collaboration with the Connecticut Birth
to Three System, the Connecticut State
Department of Education and the Newsletter Advisory Board. We welcome readers’
comments and contributions related to the
special needs of infants, toddlers, preschoolers and their families. Please mail correspondence to the editor at 67 Stony Hill Road,
Bethel, CT 06801.
2010 ADVISORY BOARD
Cathy Malley, Editor
UConn Cooperative Extension System
Claudia Anderson, Danbury Public Schools
Jane Bisantz, Jane Bisantz & Associates, LLC
Marlene Cavagnuolo, Fairfield Public
Schools
Linda Goodman, CT Birth to Three System
Aileen McKenna, CT Birth to Three System
Nancy Prescott, CT Parent Advocacy Center
Maria Synodi, State Department of Education
You are encouraged to reproduce articles or
excerpts from Birth through 5 News. Please
give appropriate credit to this newsletter and
authors.Birth through 5 News is distributed
free of charge to those interested in issues
related to children, ages birth through five,
with special needs. The mailing list includes
families and providers active in the Birth to
Three System, directors and providers of preschool special education services, special education directors, families in various preschool
special education programs, local ICCs and
others upon request. To add or delete your
name from the mailing list, or to notify us of
a change of address, please send your name,
address and phone number to Birth through
5 News, CT Birth to Three System, 460
Capitol Ave., Hartford, CT 06106.
Produced in Office of Communications,
College of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, University of Connecticut.
Graphic Design by Dean Batteson.
The University of Connecticut Cooperative
Extension System is an equal opportunity
program provider and employer. To file a
complaint of discrimination, write USDA,
Director; Office of Civil Rights, Room 326W; Whitten Building, Stop Code
9410; 1400 Independence Avenue, SW;
Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (202)
720-5964.
My daughter, Lauren was 17
months old when I called the Child
Development Infoline to request
an evaluation through the Birth to
Three System. For several months,
my husband and I had sensed that
our daughter was different than
other children. She struggled to
acquire skills like crawling, walking,
and talking that seemed to come
easily and naturally to other children her age. We wanted to know
the extent of Lauren’s delays, and to
get her help.
I felt both relieved and anxious
when the Birth to Three team arrived at our door to assess Lauren.
On the one hand, I was reassured
that someone would be addressing
our concerns about Lauren’s delays.
Yet, I also worried about why she
was struggling. During the evaluation, the Birth to Three staff was so
patient and engaging with Lauren.
They asked my husband and me
questions about Lauren, and explained the evaluation process to us.
Lauren initially qualified for physical therapy services through the
Birth to Three System to help
her with her gross and fine motor
skills. By the time she turned three
years old, Lauren was also receiving
speech and occupational therapies.
The second stage of assessment occurred during the transition process
from the Birth to Three System
to our school district’s preschool
special education program. The
school team requested and received
updated assessment reports from
the Birth to Three team, and then
held a PPT meeting where my husband and I and the Birth to Three
staff all shared information about
Lauren. Then, the preschool teacher
observed Lauren at her day care
center. Lauren qualified for special
education services, and started the
preschool program after her third
birthday. About three months after
Lauren started preschool, the PPT
team – including my husband and
myself – decided we needed further
information about Lauren. We all
felt there was something that we
could not put our finger on that
was impacting her development.
Further testing revealed that Lauren
had an intellectual disability, which
explained why she was slow to learn
skills in all areas of development.
Again, I felt relieved to have an
answer as to why Lauren struggled.
But it also took time for me to
come to terms with the reality
that Lauren would not outgrow
her delays.
How did my husband and I prepare
for Lauren’s assessments, and to
feel part of the process? We found
it helpful to research what skills
children should acquire by what
age, and then to prepare a list of
concerns we had about Lauren to
share with the evaluator. We also
learned the importance of discussing Lauren’s strengths, successes,
and interests, and to not focus only
on the things with which Lauren
needed help. The Connecticut Parent Advocacy Center (CPAC) has
a tool called the “Positive Student
Profile” which we use as a guide to
help us to identify things to share
with a team or evaluator. We also
make sure to understand what
areas of development or learning
the evaluator is assessing, and how
the evaluation will be used to
guide the team in providing
support to Lauren.
The best piece of advice I can give
parents is to remember that we
know our children best. We have
valuable information to share about
our children. As parents, we are essential to the assessment process.
W I N T E R 2 0 1 0 , VO L . 1 1 N O . 3
B I RT H t h ro ugh 5 NEWS
7
University of Connecticut
Cooperative Extension System
1376 Storrs Road, Unit 4036
Storrs, CT 06269-4036
NONPROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
STORRS, CT
PERMIT NO.3
This newsletter is available in English and Spanish. Visit the Birth to Three
website at www.birth23.org and click on Publications, or the Department of
Education website at www.sde.ct.gov, then click on the Early Childhood link.
ICC Update
By Mark A. Greenstein, MD,
ICC Chairperson
Hello all,
These notes are always written
months in advance. It is another
roller coaster time. Budgets, influenza, cutbacks...not an easy time.
Yet through all this, parents and
families keep on helping not only
their children, but others as well.
Among those are the parents who
serve on the State’s Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC). We are
a friendly group and it is so helpful
to have parents share their thoughts
and insights as we all work to help
the lead agency help the children
in our Birth to Three System. We
are always looking for parents who
would like to share their thoughts
and work with us. If you are interested in joining or would like to
learn more about the ICC, please
contact Anna Gorski, ICC staff sup-
Este boletín está disponible en inglés y en español. Visite el sitio del Sistema
para Infantes a Tres Años en www.birth23.org y pulse a Publicaciones o el del
Departamento de Educación en www.sde.ct.gov. Pulse entonces el enlace ‘Early
Childhood’ (primera infancia).
port, 860 418-8716 or
[email protected], or better yet,
join us at a future meeting!
Here are the thoughts of one of our
members. I cannot say what she
says any better; please read it and
see what I mean about how valuable
parent and family input and support can be.
“As more and more children with
learning disabilities, developmental
delays and health challenges are diagnosed each day, it’s comforting to
know that the appropriate resources
and supports are available and in
place, to help parents take the vital
steps necessary to support their
child’s development. All children
have the right to independence.
They have the right, as they mature,
to find out who they are, explore
the world, and establish a life for
themselves. As a parent of a challenged child, my participation on
the ICC, to further empower other
parents through policy, education
and awareness, has been extremely
rewarding. Our willingness, as parents, to share our hard-won knowledge with other ICC members and
the many families that are affected
by our decisions, is of the utmost
importance. Our voices not only
champion those causes which face
our children today, but also beckon
to those who come after us to continue our work. The advancement
of advocacy to help all children live
well is no longer a dream. While
many challenges remain, our accomplishments have done wonders
to help our children ultimately live
full, productive, happy, and satisfying lives! For this I am deeply grateful and remain ever optimistic of
our future goals. I strongly urge all
interested parents to join us in helping to further our cause...together
we do make a difference.”
Elise Minor, Parent ICC Member